Sarah Palin faded from the political stage after finally admitting she had no intention to run for the White House. Now Palin, once so famous and now out-of-favor, hopes to regain her lost status by endorsing a Republican presidential candidate. Will anyone have her, or has Palin’s celebrity dried up?

In a piece about Fox News mastermind Roger Ailes’ fury over Palin announcing her presidential decision on a non-Fox radio show, New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman reports, “A Palin adviser told me that she is planning to make an endorsement for a candidate in 2012. Palin, being Palin, is keeping it tightly held. ‘I have an idea of who it is,’ the adviser said, ‘but I’m not telling.'”

Sherman notes, “Palin knows that she still has value as a gatekeeper to her grassroots base.” How can Palin be so sure? Few people wanted her to run for president. In August, a scant 34% of people told Pew Research said they would support her candidacy; a Fox News poll one month later had similar results: 74% said she should not run for president. And her favorability numbers slipped throughout her faux presidential campaign: only 38% gave her good marks in January. By the time she wrapped up her non-campaign, only 22% still favored Palin, according to CBS News.

The former conservative darling had successfully alienated herself from her once-adoring fans with publicity-seeking bus tours and coy, nebulous predictions of her future.

After soaring to great heights, scooping up lucrative television, book and appearance deals, Palin appeared finish. And as Sherman’s article notes, Palin can’t even count on her most powerful, loyal friends, particularly an “infuriated” Roger Ailes.

…Tensions between Palin and Fox haven’t subsided. Ailes, who told Newsweek that he hired Palin when she was “hot,” clearly hoped she would boost ratings. But beyond her prime-time commentary, Palin hasn’t turned into the television asset Ailes had hoped. Palin’s contract is up in 2013 and it’s unclear what the current fracas will mean for her future on Fox News.

Palin expects to become a big player in the 2012 election, but can she do so without a platform? And, if so, can she be sure Republican candidates will want to be endorsed by a brand gone stale? Or can Palin win back her fans, Fox News and political fame by following Sherman’s advice: mending fences with Ailes by announcing her endorsement on Fox News?